Chapter 6 (cont.)

[Page 415]

The Oppressors - Lewitzkas and
Kaminskas

By S. Simonov

Translated by Irene Emodi, Tel Aviv

Justice has a long arm - and even if many years have passed
since our community was destroyed - we did not give up nor will we
ever give up the wish to see the murderers punished, wherever they
may be.

At the end of 1974 I was asked to come to the American
Consulate in East Jerusalem to identify, according to pictures,
the criminals Lawitzkas and Kaminskas.

In coordination with the Nazi crimes investigation division of
the Israeli police, I appeared at the Consulate, however the
pictures of old gentiles that were presented to me made it
difficult for me to identify the criminals.

At the end of 1974 I received a request from the Israeli police
to submit the names and addresses of former residents of Yurburg
who would be able to identify the criminals, and so I did. A
number of people were called for interviews and the matter was
forgotten again.

In October this year I once again turned to the Nazi crimes
investigation division of the Israeli police and asked for a
report about the matter.

I was told the file had not been closed. As far as they knew,
Kaminskas had been traced, brought to trial and a verdict had been
issued to deport him from the United States. However, the
execution of the verdict was postponed from year to year due to
his poor health.

As far as Lawitzkas is concerned, the investigation department
has no information yet.

[If anyone has any futher information about these criminals, please communicate with Joel Alpert so that we can add the information to this web page. Jan. 8, 2000]

[Pages 416-418]

The People From Shaodina Were the
First to be Executed

By Avraham Laibosh

Translated by Irene Emodi, Tel Aviv

To the martyrs of Shaodina - a faithful tear

True, one might say: thousands of towns and villages in the
diaspora were destroyed by the Nazi oppressors, so what difference
does another tiny town with 16-18 Jewish families make! The answer
is: it does, oh yes it does! Both because of its
particularly bitter fate and because of some of its Jews, this
little town deserves special mention.

Shaodina was one of the first little towns to be slaughtered,
even before the ghettoes, before the gas chambers, before Maidanek
and Auschwitz.

The Jews of the little town of Shaodina had a "special
privilege" : they were the first to be executed. Perhaps this fate
was shared by other little towns in Lithuania that were close to
Germany (such as Sudarg and others), but the writer of this
article received accurate information only about Shaodina. A week
after the Nazi invasion, which took place at the end of June 1941,
the Nazis rounded up all the adult Jewish men at the little town
in order to, as it were, send them to Shaki. On the way there they
were all murdered. Two weeks later all the women of Israel in the
town and their little children drank [from] "the cup of
poison."*

* According to the version of the Igdalski Mashaki brothers (I
met them in Munchen, Germany) and also according to the version of
Rachel Bandelin, the men were killed near the town of Shaki on the
eleventh of Tamuz 5701(June 6, 1941). The women were killed by the
Germans and their faithful Lithuanian helpers, who outdid them in
cruelty, on 21 Elul 5701 (September 13, 1941).

Thus they lie there, till today, in two mass graves, close to
each other. Who can describe the terror in the eyes of the poor
women when they realized the bitter fate of the men! Thus they
were murdered and thus they were thrown into mass graves, the Jews
of Shaodina, without a tear of pity, without a funeral, without an
eulogy, without the prayer for the dead. They died like impure
animals and were buried like donkeys.

Among the women who were killed we should mention the devoted
mother who at the time had become a legend because of what she
did: her only son contracted dyptheria. He would soon suffocate if
he did not receive an injection by a physician, but there was no
doctor in Shaodina, only on the other side of the Neiman river in
Yurburg. It was in the cold days of winter. The Neiman river had
just frozen, but was still covered by a thin layer of ice, and no
one dared to walk on this thin ice. What did this mother do? She
put her sick son on a small winter carriage, and with the rope in
her hands she drew the sled over the thin ice, until it reached
the safe shore . . .

And among the murdered men was the great father who planted the
love of Israel in the heart of his son. This father gave
everything to his son, saved every penny, to send him to Zion, to
be educated there. This was before World War I when merely a
handful of lucky people went to Eretz Yisrael. There was no
greater joy to this father than the letters he received from his
son in Eretz Yisrael, he would read them six days of the week, and
on the seventh day he would read them together with the week's
Bible portion.

*

A steamship, that had left Kovna to go to Yurburg, was sailing
along the Neiman river. A young, enthusiastic passenger stood on
deck, his bright eyes looking in the distance. Here, here, the two
towers of the new church of Yurburg appeared on the right side of
the river. Here come the parks and houses of Yurburg. Opposite
these houses, to the left of the river, there is a broad range of
forest. There are large stone houses there with many trees. Those
are the buildings of the Kidol estate, Shaodina's neighbor on this
side. Closer to the onlooker on the boat large wooden houses
become visible - the Kimmel estate, Shaodina's neighbor on the
other side. Between these two estates, parallel to the river -
broad green pastures in between - the little houses with the
thatched roofs of Shaodina continue.

About twenty Jewish families lived in Shaodina at this time
(before World War I). The Jews here were no intellectuals, but
they were not ignorant either. Neither rich nor poor. Made a
living here and there on trade and here and there on farming.
There was a synagogue (Kloiz), but the town was too small to be
able to keep all the "holy vessels." It was thus satisfied to have
its own ritual slaughterer, while it shared the rabbi with Sudarg.
And - God forbid - a Jew who died was brought to Sudarg for
burial, 8 kms. away from Shaodina..

Only the Neiman river, which is not very wide at this spot,
separates Shaodina from Yurburg, but the mental distance with the
"Polishe" - as the people in Yurburg would call the Jews of
Shaodina - was very great indeed. These were two different worlds.
The Jews of Yurburg considered their town (only 5000 inhabitants
in all) a metropolis, while the Jews of Shaodina were provincial
villagers to them. In addition there were geographical and
ethnogaphical differences. Here a Subalak, formerly Poland,
peasant, there a peasant from Kovna, Russia. Here they say Mauer
Sauer, there : Moier Soier. Here they are plain, stubborn Jews who
don't mind eating mutton, especially when it is smoked, there they
are spoiled towns people, where there is a law and they would
never dare serve warm sandwiches for breakfast. When
Lithuania gained independence and the Hebrew Gymnasium was
established in Yurburg, used also by the children of Shaodina,
many differences were set aside.

Only one of the hundred Jews of Shaodina survived. The houses
were not burned or destroyed, but "our homes became the homes of
strangers" - Lithuanian gentiles occupied them. I don't know what
happened to the "Kloiz" (synagogue), but whether it was occupied
and used for another purpose or not, " save me from the insult of
the one that remains silent, without anyone coming to celebrate."

Hitler may be credited for not distinguishing between one Jew
and another. He directed his poisonous rage at all of them. Only
very few Jews from Yurburg and Sudarg survived.

[Pages 419-428]

Last Days in Yurburg and its
Surroundings(The Story of Aba Vals)

By Paz

Translated by Irene Emodi, Tel Aviv

The story of my life in the Nazi hell covers a long period.
However, it is well-known that it is the nature of man to forget
many things and this applies even more so to someone like myself
who has reached a very old age. There are, however, chapters of
life that leave such a deep impression on the heart that it is
impossible to erase them. I shall never forget what happened to me
in the evil years of the Nazi occupation in Lithuania.. Those who
were not there and did not feel the physical and mental anguish
will not believe our story, for it is beyond comprehension.

When I remember those terrible days, dreadful scenes come to
mind, torture and killing. I witnessed the death of our relatives
and brothers, the Jews of Yurburg, I witnessed the loss of my
family . . .

In the last years before the Holocaust I lived in Yurburg. Jews
had lived in Yurburg for many generations - they are there no
longer. Jewish Yurburg was destroyed and erased from under the sky
of Lithuania.

I was born in the little town of Shaodina. The Neiman river, as
is known, separated Shaodina from Yurburg. Although Shaodina
belonged to the Shaki region, as the entire area beyond the river,
we from Shaodina, considered ourselves as belonging to Yurburg. We
were all attached in heart and soul to Yurburg, where we studied
and spent the years of our youth.

After World War I Shaodina became quite large, but the number
of Jewish inhabitants diminished. Many left, especially the young,
who did not see a future there for themselves. Of the hundreds of
families that had lived there in the past only about twenty were
left when World War II broke out.

The majority of the Shaodina residents were farmers and some
dealt in the trades. The tradesmen bought fodder from the farmers,
cattle, linen, poultry, eggs etc., and they would sell their goods
to the Jewish tradesmen in Yurburg, who dealt in the export of
goods to Germany and western Europe.

I remember a number of families in town, among them my brother
Meir Vals and his family, and my uncles - Nathan and Leiser Vals,
my father's brothers, and also Hirshel and Itzik Goldin. I also
remember Ortchik and his wife Ilana, Leibe Meigel, Yankel
Bendelin, who was a wholesale tradesman and Meir Pesachson. I
remember Meir Feldman, whose daughter Hannah joined the "Hahalutz"
movement, went on training and on aliyah to Eretz Yisrael and to
the kibbutz. There was the Laibosh family there - Moshe Laibosh,
whose son Meir is presently in Israel and works as a pharmacist at
"Kupat Holim" (Health Fund); The Moshe Laibosh family was also
well-known - their son Zalman, a gifted young man, studied at the
Yurburg Gymnasium and Kovna University; he joined the "Habimah"
studio while he was still a student and emigrated to Israel.
Zalman Laibosh became very well known in Israel as an outstanding
actor and famous director in Israel and America.

There were many Zionists in the little town of Shaodina and
there was a great love for Eretz Yisrael there. The youngsters
studied at Hebrew schools and belonged to pioneer youth movements.
The town did not have a rabbi. The Shaodina residents used the
rabbi of Sudarg, a little town 8-9 kms. (6 miles) away on the
German border. The two towns shared a cemetery. We had a religious
slaughterer, called "Rabbi Alter mit die sieben Techter," i.e.
Alter with the seven daughters . . . . We also had a prayer house
in our little town, but there was hardly a real school. Most
children studied at the schools and gymnasium of Yurburg. Indeed,
what separated us from Yurburg - only the Neiman river on the
ferry. Except for the days when the snow melted, the trade,
cultural and social link was never cut off between Shaodina and
Yurburg. Many Shaodina residents even settled in Yurburg itself,
in fact that is what I did; when the Nazis came I had been a
Yurburg resident for quite a while.

My forefathers were Shaodina residents. They were peasants.
They had fields, cattle, horses. The land did not disappoint them.
I inherited the love of land and animals from my parents. We were
very close to nature, rooted in simple farm life, just like all
the gentile peasants around us. However, in the last generation
people left the town, as mentioned above. The young men wanted to
acquire an education, they went to study and did not return to the
little town; I also left, after I got married, and I settled in
Yurburg, although I still continued the farming business. Three
children were born to me in Yurburg - Haim Shlomo, Nathan and
Zelda. I was happy with my life, I earned enough and was able to
take good care of my family. There was no room for any particular
concern. In those days I could not imagine that heavy clouds were
already hovering over our sky. Soon our entire way of life changed
completely. Disaster hit us like a thunderstorm.

On the evening of June 22, 1941 Hitler's hooligans entered
Lithuania. Already in the early hours of the morning airplanes
appeared in the sky of Yurburg, immediately followed by the army,
there was shock and tumult. People tried to escape to all possible
directions. I had a horse and carriage and thought they would save
us. As I lived at the outskirts of town I said to myself" I'll
run, I'll run" . . . The moment the idea occurred to me I urged my
wife, Henya, to put all the things that could be taken along on
the carriage. We did everything in a great hurry, put our little
children on the carriage, and still in the early hours of the
morning I left with my wife and children. We went to the east, to
Rassain. The road was difficult and full of vehicles; it was a
tiring and exhausting trip, while the terrible enemy was behind us
and a narrow path of hope in front of us. However, after a short
while, when we reached Shimkaitsh, our hope dissipated.

The Nazi soldiers had arrived there before us; they confronted
us, rifles drawn, searched us and our belongings, took a
photograph of all of us and sent us back to Yurburg. When we
returned tired and depressed to Yurburg we found our house had
been taken over by the Germans. After we begged and pleaded, they
vacated a space in one of the houses for us and thus we passed the
first days, under the patronage of "our German neighbors". We
lived in fear and were terrified, yet we had no idea of what would
happen to us in the coming days.

A couple of days after the Germans invaded Yurburg, the German
hooligans passed along the homes of the Jews, together with their
Lithuanian helpers, and took some of the Jews away, according to a
list. Later on it transpired that this was aimed at the Jews who
were educated and influential among the Jewish population of the
town. I also joined this respectable group, which consisted of 520
people. There were 20 in the group who were not Jewish, communist
leaders, who had ruled Lithuania for over a year. This group of
people were led to the Jewish cemetery by the German soldiers and
their Lithuanian guides. Here we were told to form into groups and
dig deep holes. The work was hard and we were very depressed. It
is impossible to describe what went on there. I immediately
understood what to expect in this place. I don't know how, but I
suddenly got the idea and decided to rebel - "to be saved, to hang
on to life." I saw a piece of double land in front of me with a
deep decline behind it and a steep slope. I quickly threw myself
onto the ground and rolled myself into the deep abyss, which went
down to the Neiman river. After a few seconds I saw myself hurt
and beaten, but all alone, and far from the place of evil. I
gathered my last strength and got up. "Where should I go?" In
front of me was the slowly flowing Neiman river, cows in the
meadows and fields in the distance. I decided to hide in the corn
fields. The moment I started on my way I found a horse-shoe. I
took the horse-shoe into my hand and put it next to my heart,
perhaps, I said to myself, this is a sign that I shall be able to
survive. Our forefathers were superstitious and believed the
horse-shoe is a sign of luck and success . . . who knows? - at
that moment the horse-shoe lifted my spirits and gave me hope that
I would be able to reach my home and see my wife and children.
Thus I continued on my way. I climbed mountains and went down
valleys until I reached the area where I lived. On the way
shepherds and peasants told me what had happened to the group of
Jews at the cemetery. Their story came as no surprise to me. I
knew their fate would be bitter. I was told that Dr. Karlinksy
delivered a speech at the cemetery, before he died, he spoke out
against the murderous Nazis, instigating those condemned to death.
As far as I know I am the only survivor of this group.

When I approached the garden of my home I saw my wife from
afar; I was sure that I had reached my goal. However, this was not
the case. All of a sudden two Lithuanian Shaulists blocked my way,
grabbed me and ordered me to follow them to the police station. I
begged them to let me spend the night at home and promised I would
present myself at the police station the next morning. However, I
failed. "Anyhow" - one of them said - "you are about to die, so
what difference does it make to sleep one more night at home."
However, one Shaulist almost granted me my request; I saw that my
pleading had aroused his pity, but the other one was as hard as
stone. He had murder in his eyes. In short, I was taken to the
police. My wife and children remained at home and were certainly
waiting for me. We all passed a sleepless night.

Thus, after all the hurdles I had overcome that day I
walked/crawled with the last force left in me, while the Shaulists
urged me along, swearing and hitting me all the way. The police
commander sent me to prison. At the prison I found 46 Jews. I was
number forty seven. They say that it is possible to find solace in
sharing one's troubles with others. It was no solace to me to find
so many Jews at the prison, yet I cheered up somewhat - perhaps I
would be lucky this time too. After a while the order was received
to take us to the Laibosh courtyard on Rassain street. We were
unaware of the reason for this and did not know what to expect. In
the evening a German officer came, accompanied by a Lithuanian
policeman, and told us to line up in the courtyard. We were
divided into two groups: old men on one side and healthy young men
on the other side. The old men were allowed to go to sleep at
home. They were told unequivocally that if they failed to return
next morning all the young men, who remained at the Laibosh
courtyard, would be shot. Thus I too remained at the Laibosh home
to spend the night there with the young men. We found a place for
ourselves somehow in the home and courtyard, where we were
guarded. Shmerl Bernstein, who was the manager of the bank in our
little town, was put in charge of our group which included about
forty people. We passed a terrible night. Everyone tried to guess
what would happen to us. We each crouched in our little corner and
took stock of our life; the night passed without much sleep until
the sun rose at daybreak. The old men returned from their homes,
one after another. They looked sad, as if they knew the end was
near. After a while the Germans and Lithuanian Shaulists came,
counted the old men, making sure none of them was missing.
Immediately the order was issued to take the group of old men out
of the courtyard and beyond.

We still saw them dragging their feet, we could still hear
their sighs and saw them taking a last look at those left behind
and at the streets of Yurburg where they had grown up, lived,
raised children, grown old - and now the bitter end had come . .
.they went on their way, and, as we heard from Lithuanian
acquaintances, they were taken to the Shimkaitz forest where they
were shot. To this very day their graves are nowhere to be found.

The group of young men that remained in the courtyard was
divided into two units. I too was placed with one of these units.
We were taken to the Neiman river, where we were ordered to load
stones on to steamships, while the policemen and the oppressors
stood over us and urged us coarsely and cruelly along. The loading
went on for three days. It was hard labor. We received prison fare
- but we accepted our verdict. We said to ourselves: " as long as
it doesn't get worse". All those days when I was loading the
stones I was thinking how to escape and run far away beyond the
hills of darkness, in order to disappear from the eyes of the
murderers. However, I knew this was an idle dream. One day,
already at the end of the stone loading, I went up to the German
officer who was guarding us and told him that I was a peasant, a
farmer, and that if I did not reap the harvest everyone would go
hungry, and that that was more important than the slave labor I
was carrying out here. The officer asked a gentile Lithuanian to
corroborate my words that I really had a farm. To my joy, the
Lithuanian testified in my favor. That is how I received a
certificate from the police, at the orders of the German officer,
that released me for a month. My joy, of course, knew no bounds. I
went home with the passport to salvation in my pocket, free for a
month . . . .

The next day, early in the morning, I went to the Neiman river
in order to cross the river on the ferry to Shaodina. Near the
Neiman river I found a Jew who had been ordered to set up a booth
for a guard. He had been given wooden boards, but he did not have
a saw or tools. I helped him a little, as far as I could, and I
went to my parents' home in Shaodina. And here, imagine how
pleasantly surprised I was, I found my mother at home, my sister
and all the other members of my family, healthy and well. I can't
tell you how happy we were; here I am, sitting at home, my
childhood home, among my family, while outside the evil wind of
Hitlerism is blowing and the sword is poised. Many Jews of
Shaodina had been taken out of their homes and taken in the
direction of Shaki. Noone knows what happened to them. There was a
great deal of fear. Everyone was counting their last days and
hours.

However, let's cross that bridge when we come to it. In the
meantime I was enjoying my long "holiday". During the day I did
not work at all. "Who cared about the fields?" - a sword was
hanging over our heads. I went into the fields, looked for a place
to hide from the Germans and Shaulists and in the evening I
crossed the Neiman river on the ferry and went to my home and
family in Yurburg. Each time I heard terrible news there, which
depressed me. After a month I received an extension of another
month; "was I an important and useful man?. . ." I deceived them
as far as I could, that was my only weapon . . . .

In those days I received the terrible news that the women and
children of Yurburg had already been taken out of their homes and
led to the forest . . . from the Lithuanians I heard about their
bitter end and about the tragic fate of my wife and children. I
find it hard to believe the terrible testimony about the crimes
committed by the Lithuanians, the Nazis' helpers, how could they .
. . how could they murder women and children in cold blood,
weeping babies ... and throw them all into a hole . . .I can hear
their voices deafening my ears . . . how? . . . how?

I remained alone, the only one of my small family to survive.
There was nothing left for me in Yurburg. Yurburg without Jews did
not exist for me. My world had fallen apart. However, the urge to
live is apparently stronger than man. I recovered from the blows
of destiny and the suffering of Job. Now I only felt the instinct
of wrath.

One day I was summoned to the police. I understood the end had
come. I had to think of a way to save myself this time too. Until
now I had managed to outwit them, but what would happen now.
Perhaps someone had denounced me? Could that be true? Until now I
had been lucky, had my luck run out now?

And then, at the very time when I was deliberating, an idea
struck me. I shall not go to the police of Yurburg, what do I have
to do with Yurburg, what is it to me? Those who hate me are there,
those who murdered my family - I shall run away, I shall not
surrender, I want to live. Perhaps I would do well to run to my
mother and my relatives who are still in Shaodina. When the
Germans find out that I don't have any fields or gardens and that
I lied to them all along, they will kill me, for they are
murderers. I can still hear the cries of the old men, women and
children they murdered and whose skulls they crushed - and now
they want to do the same to me. No, I said to myself, they won't
be so lucky.

I shall not be a slave to you or fall victim to wild,
blood-thirsty animals. I must escape, immediately, but where to?
Where shall I go - certainly not to Yurburg, that is clear. Nor
will I go to Shaodina. I remembered that nor far away, in this
area, I knew a gentile, who was a frequent guest at our house. I
knew him and trusted him. I somehow got to him. Yes, he knew me.
He did not ignore me, although I saw he was full of fear. At the
home of this farmer I hid for seven days. I ate of his bread and
drank of his water. I might have remained with my Lithuanian
acquaintance longer, but something happened. Close by, almost next
door, the Jew called Moshke Yokas was caught. He too had hidden
with a Lithuanian farmer. The Germans and Lithuanians arrested him
and shot him on the spot, and after that they also shot the
gentile who had helped him. This news spread to the entire village
and to other villages as well. From now on no one dared harbor a
Jew under his roof, it was too risky, and the local population was
not too fond of Jews anyhow. Many now found an opportunity, under
the German occupation, to take revenge on the Jews whom they had
hated for a long time.

When it became known that the Lithuanian farmer had been killed
for hiding the Jew, my benefactor said to me "I am very sorry, you
must leave, for if they find out they will kill me . . . " Outside
it was winter. It had snowed and it was ice cold. "Where shall I
go?" - tears welled up in my eyes - "where can I go?" The farmer
saw how I felt and understood my tragic position, that I was
homeless and was being thrown out of the house like a dog. He took
pity, got up and said : "go to my father in law -he is a
Lithuanian farmer of German origin, no one will suspect him - go
to him, tell him I sent you, and you'll be able to stay with him
for a couple of days." That is what I did. However, it did not
take long before I saw that he disapproved of me and I was afraid
he might hurt me. One day he said to me: " why fall victim to
those who want to kill you, why don't you just go through the gate
of the yard and take your own life there . . . that is your only
choice." I told him : "if I really have to die I shall not die
here, and be devoured by the wild animals of the forest, I prefer
to go to the Jewish cemetery, dig a hole for myself and be buried
on the land of my fathers." As it was night, I asked for
permission to sleep on the attic for one more night before I would
leave. The gentile showed signs of nervousness and I felt he was
planning to kill me. I climbed to the attic, but I could not close
my eyes, I was afraid of my hosts' evil schemes. I was already
experienced in those days. I knew to distinguish between one
person and another.

After I had tossed about for an hour, unable to fall asleep, I
made a small hole in the straw that covered the roof, and went
outside, leaving the farmer's house far behind. All night long I
trampled on the snow, while my legs froze and my head was
spinning. I reached Papushok, a scarcely populated village, on the
way to Shaki, about ten kms. (6 miles) away from Shaodina. I knew
the angel of death was waiting for me. . . . Until today I don't
know how I managed to get through those difficult days and arrive
here. Till I die I won't know. However, I knew one thing - that I
was determined to overcome the difficulties and stay alive and
witness the downfall of our people's enemy and my family's
murderers. This hope kept up my spirit and helped me overcome the
hardship and sufferings.

It was morning. At the home of a farmer I saw that the door of
the stable was open. I went in, the farmer saw me and was
startled. I knew him and he knew me too. His wife also came to
take a look at me. He told me the Jews here were in great danger.
And he also told me that Laibosh from Shaodina had been caught and
had been killed here in this area. I started to cry. I had no
energy left and I did not have the strength to go any further. If
I had to die in this stable then let this be my grave . . .

When the farmer saw how miserable I was, he took pity. He
ordered his wife to bring me some bread and butter to cheer me up.
Once I had eaten I no longer had the strength to get up, but the
farmer said : "go into the home, never mind what happens. I am not
afraid of those who live in my home, they won't tell anyone, for
another Jew is hiding in my home." This was a simple, poor
peasant, who barely made a living from the plot of land and the
animals he had. In winter he would be a shoemaker, would stitch
one patch to another, for anyone who asked. That was the source on
which he barely made a living , particularly in those difficult
days, when everyone was hungry. The German conquerors starved and
humiliated the population, for they took the Lithuanian harvest to
the front. "My" farmer was unable to understand how so many
Lithuanians cooperated with the Germans and helped them.

In short: the farmer with whom I found my home, was my true
benefactor. He arranged a place for me on the attic where I spent
- who would believe it? - three and a half years. The farmer
shared his food with me. Often the members of his family would go
hungry and I was one of them. He had one condition. "If you hear
my dogs barking, be aware they may search my house. If so, run
away, my friend, don't bring disaster on me."

Luckily, there were Germans who needed shoe repairs and used
the farmer who was a shoemaker. However, they had no idea that on
the attic, in bundles of straw, a Jew was hiding, poor fellow. . .
.

My life at the farmer's home was boring, each day resembled the
next. The days and nights were very long, endless. It is
impossible to convey the thoughts that tortured me and weakened my
strength to face the hardship and suffering.

One day I found a cyrstal radio that was equipped with
earphones. I barely managed to hear the news from a distance. Each
day the Germans would enthrall the Lithuanian population with
stories about the German army's heroic victories on all fronts.
And here, on that same day, I heard that the German divisions had
been beaten in battle and fallen into Russian custody. This was
encouraging news, from that moment I felt that Hitler's days were
counted and that the murderer would end on the gallows. From that
moment I felt some relief in my sorrow.

One day - it is hard to believe - we were free. The enemy had
been beaten and dealt a mortal blow. Now I was free to go, could
breathe fresh air, enjoy the warmth of the sun - yes, yes, I - the
survivor - who had lived through the terrible Holocaust- could
leave my place of hiding and . . .go, go, go...

-"Where to go, where shall I go?"

And then, without a minute's hesitation, I took the decision:

"I shall not return to Yurburg or to Shaodina! Those places -
without the Jews- mean nothing to me." . . .

*

I got up and went to look for other survivors . . .I wanted to
find my fellow Jews, and I found them - very few in Kovna and many
more in Vilna. I decided to settle in Vilna which was now the
capital of Lithuania, under the Soviet regime. I also found work
which came as a great blessing. From the physical point of view my
life was not particularly difficult. It was difficult, though, to
forget what our enemies and prosecutors had done to us. The shadow
of the terrible Holocaust haunted me and my soul found no rest.
That went on for a long time. Then I understood my place was not
here among the whispering ashes of my dear ones. I was the only
one left of my family and the Jewish community - what was I doing
here? . ..

In those days my dreams were taking me to our country, the
country of the Jews, Eretz Yisrael, which had come alive again,
after two thousand years of exile. I asked the Lithuanian-Soviet
authorities to allow me to leave Lithuania, in order to emigrate
to Israel but they refused. I asked them again a number of times.
I did not give up. Only in 1967 I received permission to leave
Lithuania. I went on aliyah and Israel has been my home since.

I am very happy to live among my people with the family I was
lucky enough to establish after the years of the terrible
Holocaust.

All we need is health, the health to go on living in our
beautiful country, the land of our dreams, in revenge on the
beastly murderers of our people.

[Pages 429-437]

A Group of "Yurburgers" in the
Forest

Eye-witness account by Yehuda Tarshish, a Survivor
of the Partisans

Edited by Z. Poran

Translated by Irene Emodi, Tel Aviv

At the end of World War II, one of the most cruel wars ever to
take place, what was to be expected indeed happened to Nazi
Germany. Hitler's army was defeated. Fascism proved to be a total
failure. The people of Europe felt relieved, after their desperate
battle against German vandalism aiming to destroy them. A period
of recuperation and renewal started - the time had come to rebuild
and create a world free of fear of persecution and force. Such was
the world and thus were all the people of Europe who had known
much suffering. However matters were different for the people of
Israel, dispersed and exiled all over Europe. They had come out of
the horrible battle bruised and wounded. A few were left here and
there, one in a village, two in a family. They were unable to
rebuild their ruined communities on the soil that was drenched
with the blood of their dear ones. As soon as the war was over,
therefore, the Holocaust survivors started to move towards Eretz
Yisrael, the shelter of those who longed for national salvation
and human dignity.

One of those survivors on Lithuanian soil arrived at a safe
haven at the end of the war, after he had gone through many
difficult experiences at the Kovna ghetto and Yurburg forests. His
name was Yehuda (Yudel) Tarshish, who presently lives in Tel Aviv,
and he is a survivor of the group that lived in the forests and
was called "The Yurburgers". Some of them were a nucleus of Jews
from Yurburg (11 men and women under the leadership of Antanas
{Moshe}), others were Jews who had come to the forest from various
places, among them the Salvodka ghetto, to join small units that
fought against the enemy.

Prof. Dov Levin [Hebrew University], the famous Holocaust
researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, talked to Yehuda
Tarshish, and we found important testimony in his words regarding
the fate of the survivors from Yurburg and its surroundings, who
went to the forests to fight for their physical safety and take
revenge on the enemy who had destroyed their families and
community. Furthermore: the Jewish nucleus from Yurburg maintained
a connection with the Kovna ghetto, by special envoy, and took
tens of imprisoned Jews who were in distress out of the ghetto.

We thought it important to present Yehuda Tarshish's words as
an eye- witness account of the courageous survivors from Yurburg
and others in the forests surrounding the town. In the end most of
them were defeated and fell in the battle in the Yurburg area and
their place of burial is unknown. It is a terrible story with a
bitter, tragic end.

*

. . . .At the Kovna ghetto (Salvodka) - says Yehuda Tarshish -
I was known as a brave guy, who would come and go through the
fence that surrounded the ghetto, without a yellow patch and
without a Star of David, i.e. without "Lates". A Haz (rabbit) -
they were called. Armed with a gun I would cross the ghetto fence
in order to smuggle in food and arms from the outside.

In March 1944, after the children's "Aktia" (Action)
acquaintances from the ghetto approached me and asked me to help
them get to "Inkaras", a rubber factory 5-6 kms. away from the
Salvodka ghetto. They wanted me to lead them there in order to
reach the Yurburg forests from there. I agreed at once.

In those days I also transferred little children from the
ghetto to the Lithuanian orphanage called "Lafshialis". An old
woman worked at this orphanage and she would receive the children
from me. She was particularly interested in little girls. Once a
baby who I was about to transfer to the orphanage was given an
injection to make him fall asleep before I would take him out of
the ghetto so that he would not cry when I crossed the fence. I
put the baby in a bag at an agreed-upon spot near the back door of
the orphanage, and when I came next day and brought another bag of
sleeping children, the old women told me the child had died.
Apparently he had received an overdose.

Those who approached me regarding their transfer to "Inkaras"
were in contact with someone called Feinstein. He was a "Brigadir"
at the ghetto, i.e. in charge of those leaving on forced labor
outside the ghetto. This Feinstein had two brothers in the forests
near Yurburg. The Feinstein brothers were quite familiar with the
area for they had been born there. Before the war they owned a
sawing workshop [sawmill] (Zagwerk). They spent three years in the
forest, armed with Russian sub-machine guns and other weapons;
they inspired fear in the Lithuanians who inhabited the villages
and received them at their homes.

When they heard that the Russian army was approaching Lithuania
and that the war would soon be over, they asked Jews be removed
from the Kovna ghetto and be concentrated in the forests until the
war was over. In one of the villages a woman lived who was a
convert and wanted to reconvert. This woman risked her life to
bring a big ship to the Vilya river front near "Inkaras". But -
how does one leave the ghetto?- I of course had almost free
passage to get out of the ghetto, for I knew the militia
(Lithuanian police) whose guard-post was near the Christian
cemetery. Here a few policemen stood guard and in return for money
they would turn a blind eye, so that one evening I could take
about thirty people out of the ghetto. I often bought arms from
these policemen, mainly rifles. I would dismantle the rifle butts
and smuggle them into the ghetto for self defense and for those
who were about to join the "Partisanka" in the forests.

I knew the way to "Inkaras" very well, so that I was able to
lead those who went to the forest without a problem. We left in
the early evening hours and arrived at the boat at midnight. Here
the converted woman was waiting for us and she agreed to let me be
one of the sailors, although I was not on the list of those going
to the forest.

My mother and two sisters remained at the ghetto, they did not
know the secret of my going to the forest. My father was killed in
1941, the moment the Germans entered Lithuania.

All those who went to the forest had money to buy food, and
light arms mainly. As far as I remember the Beck brothers were
with us (Hirshke and Shlomke), Moshke Levin, Fein, the butcher,
and other men who possessed arms. The group comprised 15 men and
12 women, 2 young women among them.

The members of the group crowded on the bottom of the ship. It
was a foggy night. We flowed along the stream of the Vilya which
joins the Neiman river near "Hashlas", the old fortress of Kovna.
We were headed for the Yurburg area. We went down stream at a
speed of 10 kilometers per hour. I rowed. It was a quiet night,
but all of a sudden - an unpleasant surprise: we ran into a
steamship. . . We heard Lithuanian songs and German voices as
well. Apparently they were policemen and soldiers. They were
heading towards Kovna and we were heading towards Yurburg. We
immediately covered all the passengers with canvas, and we tried
to get as far away as possible from the boat. The converted woman
beckoned to me to go on rowing quickly - and if questions would be
asked - only she would answer, for she spoke Lithuanian fluently,
like a true gentile. I wore a light peasant coat, so that it was
impossible to recognize me as a Jew. It was a fishing boat which
had space for forty people. We advanced slowly to our destiny. It
was clear to all of us that many surprises lay in stock for us. We
had therefore taken along arms to defend ourselves. All those who
went to the forest knew they would live the life of "Partisanka"
in the forest, under the command of the Feinstein brothers, who
were experienced in the life of the forest. We were prepared for
this.

The plan was to accommodate the women and children at peasants'
homes, while the men and young women would be organized into guard
groups. It was explained to us that the Feinstein brothers planned
to concentrate 200 to 250 men of army age, armed, in the forest to
form a fighting force. They also planned to "absorb" people who
had been trained at Haim Yelin (communists) organizations and the
Zionist movements. Till now there had been no contact between the
Feinstein brothers and these organizations, except for the
connection the converted woman maintained with the ghetto once in
a couple of months.

After hours of energetic and exhausting rowing all night - we
arrived at the Shtaki shore in the morning, not far from Yurburg.
A few terrifying surprises awaited us on the way, but the
important thing is that we arrived at our destination, although
here another unpleasant surprise was waiting for us.

This is what happened. We went down to the beach and hid among
bushes growing on the sand dunes, not far from the Neiman river.
It had been agreed that a Lithuanian would wait for us on the
beach; however, apparently we were mistaken. The converted woman
went to look for the Lithuanian, and it took two hours before she
finally returned with him. The Lithuanian's name was Kazis. The
Feinstein brothers had promised him payment for his efforts and
had assured him that once the war was over he would receive a lot
of money, as all those who were coming were wealthy people from
Kovna who had homes and a lot of property. . .

Kazis led us to the nearby forest and he himself went to look
for food. The promise was kept. A couple of hours later he came,
bringing along bread, butter and all sorts of porridge on his
wagon. We rested and waited for nightfall, getting organized under
field conditions. The Feinstein brothers came and issued orders -
which we obeyed. The women and children were accommodated at
peasants' homes and the men were divided into two groups that
would operate in the forest. I was put in charge of one group. In
addition to the Feinstein brothers we knew another Jewish
commander in the forest, nicknamed Antanas. Antanas' family was
killed by the Lithuanians and Germans.

He himself had escaped and roamed the forests, armed from head
to toe. I was given the nickname Waladas, for everyone here had a
nickname. I was given a F.N. gun, made in Belgium with a
Lithuanian emblem. The gun came with thirty 9 mm. bullets.

A couple of days later we were introduced to an officer, a
Russian pilot, via Antanas. At a special roll-call we were told
that the pilot's plane had been downed over Yurburg, and Antanas
had found him in the forest. He was a senior lieutenant who had
been decorated. We were sure we would hear details from him about
what was going on at the front and we very disappointed when we
heard nothing new. About 30-40 armed men took place in this
meeting, but the Lithuanians in the area who observed us were
convinced we were a military force of hundreds of men. They were
afraid of us and even the Lithuanian policemen in the villages
avoided entering the forest area.

That evening people were appointed to special functions, such
as food supply, guarding the camp and sabotage. In those days we
went onto the roads and attacked German vehicles.

Others went on procurement missions, i.e. to obtain food in the
Lithuanian villages, particularly from those about whom we knew
they cooperated with the enemy. Once we even had to shoot a
Lithuanian, who cooperated with the Germans, for refusing to hand
over a few cows.

Most actions were planned by Antanas (Moshe), he was a serious,
poised man, a well-known war hero and all the Lithuanians were
afraid of him. He was familiar with the Yurburg area and spoke
Lithuanian like a gentile, although his dark face revealed his
origins.

In the Lithuanian War of Independence (1918) he was a
"Savanaris" - a volunteer in the Lithuanian army. The Feinsteins
also followed his orders without question, and so did the officer,
the Russian pilot.

In the summer of 1944 another 15 men arrived from the Kovna
ghetto. The ghetto was about to be totally liquidated. When they
learned about our group in the forest around Yurburg a few managed
to escape from the ghetto and came to us on foot - a 70-80 kms.
(a;bout 50 miles) walk - in spite of the hurdles and risks on the
way. In those days it was planned to take hundreds of people out
of the ghetto, in spite of our limited ability to accommodate them
under forest conditions. Unfortunately, the ghetto was liquidated
within a week. The soldiers on the Russian-Lithuanian front
advanced and arrived at Rassain. The Lithuanian division that took
part in the conquest of Zamatias, was already at the front. Most
of the soldiers in this division were Jewish and the Russians and
Lithuanians formed a minority here. Among them was Wolf Vilensky,
the well-known general who earned the title "Hero of the Soviet
Union.".

The horror stories of the Kovna ghetto survivors enticed us to
take a course of action aimed at preventing the enemy from
carrying out his plans and beat him. We were 75 men in total. Half
of them had some kind of weapon - rifles, sub-machines, pistols
and grenades. We were an independent unit. We came into contact
with a Partisan battalion (Atriad) only once. They had come from
the Rodniki forest and were advancing towards Yurburg, there were
Jews among them. They wanted to strike at the enemy's back. They
were armed with heavy Soviet machine guns.

We wanted to join them but they refused, thus we were forced to
continue to operate against the German troops on our own, in the
area where we were, to hinder their movement and avenge the Jewish
people. It is superfluous to point out that the fire of wrath
burned in all of us and we were always ready to volunteer for the
most dangerous actions.

The security situation in the forest grew worse by the day.
Therefore all the people from Yurburg were divided into two groups
- one counted 30 people and the other 40. The Feinstein brothers
and I were appointed to head one group, while Antanas and the
officer-the Russian pilot - led the other group.

Bunkers were dug in the forest for both groups, although this
was done without an adequate engineering plan. Each bunker had one
entrance and exit and this proved to be a serious pitfall. We
equipped the bunkers with water, which we filtered through bed
sheets.

One night we encountered two soldiers. We were sure they were
Germans, but they spoke Russian and told us they were Latvians who
had deserted from the German army. They said that in Latvia they
had been forced to enlist and they were now ready to join the
Partisans against the German army. We wondered whether to believe
them - it was well-known that there were many murderers among the
Latvians who cooperated with the Germans. We had a difference of
opinion, but in the end we took pity on them. Jews are known for
their compassion and therefore the warm Jewish heart is incapable
of killing, in spite of the doubts we felt. Some, among them the
officer- the Russian pilot- thought that we might learn details
about the front from them and about the German movements in the
areas near us. In short: after we put them to some sort of test -
we accepted them amongst us. One of them was called Volodia and
the other Mishka. Antanas ordered they be transferred to my
bunker, and that is what I did. After they were interrogated we
found out that they had indeed been Latvian "Partisans" in the
past and had taken part in the liquidation of Jews in the Riga
ghetto, at the order of the Germans. They also spoke about the
coming German strategy on the front, about the communication
trenches, lighting devices, barbed-wire fences, mine fields etc.
Some of us offered the idea of breaking through the German front
and joining the Soviet army, others rejected this idea. When we
saw that the Germans reinforced their troops and brought a lot of
ammunition and stoves for the winter to the forest - we decided to
try to break through the front together with the Latvians and
cross over to the Soviet fighters.

Both the Russian officer-pilot and the Feinsteins volunteered
to be among those who would break through the front. Thus we left,
ten of us, to a post opposite the enemy's positions. We saw the
change of guard in the German communication trenches. We left the
Latvians and the Russian officer behind, for good reason. . . we
heard the exchange of fire between the Germans and the Russians.
Someone from the communication trench switched on a torch.

All of a sudden the two Latvians jumped up and started to run,
shouting, towards the communication trenches, presuming we would
all follow. The Germans started to shoot and to shout "Halt!"
(Stop). "Halt!" - but we did not run. One of the Latvians (Mishka)
was wounded in the foot and we turned back and ran away.

The Germans ran after us, shooting all the while, but they were
unable to catch up with us in the dark of night. When we sat down
to rest , exhausted, we saw the two Latvians come close, one of
them limping and leaning on his friend's shoulder. We tied up the
injured man's leg and informed Lantanas about what had happened.

We passed a quiet night. In the morning, at about ten o'clock,
a group of military policemen of the German field police suddenly
appeared. The armed policemen took up position close to us and
aimed their rifles at us. The moment I saw them I shouted at the
top of my voice to Feinstein - "Yurgis Pazurak!" - i.e. "Look
Yurgis, look!" We immediately understood that we were lost. We
opened fire, but they outnumbered us and surrounded us on all
sides. We saw them face to face from a 15 meters (50 feet)
distance. A doctor or medic stood out among them. They did not
enter into battle with us, but allowed us to escape, although they
ran after us with their trained dogs. We shot at them and they
returned fire. Thus, running and exchanging fire, we ran about 5
kms. from the bunker. We managed to pass from one part of the
forest to another. When the shooting died down and there was no
sign left of the Germans, we sat down to rest among the bushes -
when suddenly we heard the noise of shots and explosions. We knew
that our force inside the bunker had grenades, and they probably
used them against the Germans. In truth, we were just guessing.
Our heart was beating strongly but our force was too weak to help.
Only later did we learn about the bitter fate of the bunker from a
young woman called Frieda. Without this Frieda those who were in
the bunker would have taken their secret with them to the grave.
Genia Angel was saved from the second bunker and she too is a
witness who survived.

The following is Frieda's story. First of all, it immediately
became clear that the two Latvians were part of the German field
force. As they managed to fool us and became well acquainted with
our bunkers and everything concerning them, they passed this
information on to the Germans. The Germans approached the opening,
assisted by the Latvians, and one of them issued the order - "Ihr
geht mahl raus. Wenn nicht, schmeisse Ich meine Grenaten herein!"
(If you don't come out I'll throw the grenades inside) Those
inside the bunker did not surrender. They opened fire from within.
The exchange of fire went on for a while.

Those inside the bunker had the disadvantage. The Germans came
slowly closer to the opening of the bunker and threw the grenades
inside. Some were killed instantly, others were mortally wounded -
their legs were torn off, hands and other parts of their body. It
is impossible to describe the horrendous scene inside the bunker.
. . .finally all those who were still alive surrendered.

Outside the Germans lined them up in rows and searched them for
money and other valuables. Some Germans even went down into the
bunker in order to find loot there.

Frieda too was standing in the row, she asked the German medic
to allow her to step aside "for personal needs" due to her
illness. The medic consented. When Frieda went a short distance
away from the row and started to carry out "her personal needs"
the medic turned his face away for a moment, probably out of
embarrassment. When Frieda noticed this, she drew forth her
courage and quickly started to run away. The medic drew his gun
and shot at her. The bullet hit the top of her finger, covering
her hand in blood, but Frieda overcame the pain and continued to
run as fast as she could, in a kind of amok, until she found a
place of hiding in the woods. That is how Frieda was saved - the
only one of those who were in the bunker. The others were led,
heavily guarded, to Yurburg, where according to testimony by the
Lithuanians, they were all cruelly murdered. They took the bitter
truth with them to their graves.

At night our group of guards decided to return to the bunker to
see what had happened to those who were inside. We walked silently
along, in the darkness of night, and approached the bunker - the
horror scene became immediately clear - even the devil had not yet
thought of this - heads, legs, hands and body parts that were
impossible to identify, covered in blood and mire. We were only
able to identify the leg of our doctor Mordehai (Mottel) Aharonson
by the color of his pants . . . it was terrible . . . awful and
terrible. . . .

Shocked we climbed out of the bunker into the open air,
depressed and in despair. "What shall we do now?" - How can we go
on ?" - One of us got up and said that if everyone was dead there
was no sense to our lives any longer: "Let's commit suicide!" -
Some were inclined to accept this idea. But I, the youngest of the
commanders, said: "If they killed everybody - we have nothing to
lose, we will get up and avenge their blood. . ." After a long
moment of silence and many deliberations, my proposal was
accepted.

However, if at that moment someone would have drawn a gun and
shot, everyone would have committed suicide and nothing would have
been left of any of us . . . .the fate of the second bunker would
have been the same as the fate of our bunker. Those who remained
alive there were led to Yurburg where, as mentioned above, they
were shot.

When we had drunk the cup of poison down to its last drop, we
decided to accept the Feinstein's advise and go to Yurburg. Here
the Feinstein brothers knew a Lithuanian, an old acquaintance, who
lived near Yurburg. We hoped we would find shelter there and would
perhaps even manage to pay back the murderers in kind. We gathered
food and arms - someone still had a few gold rubles left and we
went ahead. We walked the whole night and towards morning we
arrived, tired and exhausted at the home of the gentile who lived
at the entrance to Yurburg. The Feinsteins knew him well. At first
the gentile was alarmed, but when he saw his old friends, the
Feinsteins, he started to kiss them . . . it was a rather forced
sceme, but that was unavoidable under the circumstances. In short:
he received a few golden rubles and became very friendly . . .

We found temporary refuge in the gentile's barn under the
bundles of fodder. Once Germans came to the gentile's home and
looked into the barn, but this time we were lucky and they did not
find us. As time passed, we witnessed exchanges of fire between
German soldiers and the Soviets in Yurburg and its surroundings.

One day our patience came to an end. We decided to break out of
our quarantine and go to the Russian front. That is what we did.
After many risks and hurdles we encountered a Soviet
reconnaissance platoon. The Russians asked us: "Who are you?" -
and we answered "Partizans." They immediately disarmed us, took
off our watches and boots . . .we had nothing left. When we
complained they said "Wai Yavarai Pomogli Neimzan"- i.e. "You,
Jews, helped the Germans." They intended to blame the Jews for
having worked at the forced labor camps of the Germans, thereby
strengthening the enemy.

Our attempts to explain that the Jews who had been imprisoned
in the ghettoes had been forced to work under threat, failed . . .
the Russian soldiers were stubborn and did not listen.

The unexpected disappointment came soon enough. Only when we
met a Jewish officer did we get back our boots, thanks to his
swift intervention. The watches were no longer to be found and the
weapons were no longer needed.

In the end we received certificates (a piece of paper) that we
were Partisans and entitled to go to liberated Kovna. The
Feinstein brothers decided to remain to receive back their
property - while we three - Fein, Konichovsky and I - went to
Kovna.

In Kovna we found total chaos. We had trouble finding a Jew who
took us into his miserable home. We saw the destruction and ruined
life of the few Jews who had survived and been absorbed by the
town, most of them had already packed their suitcase in order to
leave the valley of death as soon as possible. They all wanted to
leave and not remain in the valley of tears. They were looking
towards Eretz Yisrael, of course, but how to escape from here?
Though I longed to leave Lithuania, I had a strong urge to settle
accounts with the murderers of my family and relatives. On my way
"there" I joined those who fought against our people's enemy
inside Germany, and as a former investigating judge of Nazis I
took a great deal of revenge - our revenge on the Germans.

From the murderous land of Germany I arrived after many events
in my own country, to build and be built by it.

Monument to Remember the Murdered Heroes: " In this place on
August 12, 1941 were murdered 28 children, 19 of their mothers and
one man by the German fascists and the Lithuanians ....." -------
Standing alongside the monument is Aba Valt and his wife Miriam,
who built the monument (???) ------

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